Directing
Paulin Soumanou Vieyra
Born January 31, 1925 · Porto-Novo, Benin
Died November 4, 1987 · aged 62
Benin-born, Senegal-raised filmmaker, theorist, and historian Paulin Soumanou Vieyra was a key figure, as both practitioner and thinker, in the creation and articulation of what a post-colonial African cinema would and could be. Along with producing essential texts like “Film and the Problem of Languages in Africa“ and “Remarks on African Cinema,” founding the important Fédération Panafricaine des…
Known For
Devil in the Flesh · 1947Devil in the Flesh
★ 6.21947
MovieDramaRomance
In France during World War I, Marthe waits for her husband, Jacques, while he fights on the front lines. Marthe then begins a tempestuous affair with 17-year-old François, with whom she had a dalliance before marrying Jacques. Jealous François struggles with the fact that Marthe is married, while she tries to prove her devotion to her young, hotheaded lover. Things become even more complex when Marthe becomes pregnant with Jacques' baby.
Ceddo · 1978Ceddo
★ 6.71978
MovieDrama
The Ceddo people try to preserve their traditional African culture against the onslaught of Islam, Christianity, and the slave trade. When King Demba War sides with the Muslims, the Ceddo kidnap his daughter, Princess Dior Yacine, to protest their forcible conversion to Islam.
Emitaï · 1973Emitaï
★ 7.31973
MovieDrama
As World War II rages in Europe, a conflict arises between the French and the Diola-speaking tribe of Africa, prompting the village women to organize their men to sit beneath a tree to pray.
Xala · 1975Xala
★ 6.81975
MovieComedy
A rich businessman in Senegal is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; the only cure is brutal public humiliation.
A Nation Is Born · 2026A Nation Is Born
2026
MovieDocumentary
Une nation est née depicts the progression of Senegal from colonization to sovereignty, shown allegorically through scenes of dance and celebrations of its newly-reclaimed independence.
Lamb · 2026Lamb
2026
MovieDocumentary
The traditional struggle, known as Lamb in Wolof, which recalls the Greco-Roman struggle, is a popular national sport in Senegal. It has special rules and very strict. Every spectator can bet on his favorite wrestler in a festive atmosphere. The Dakar Arena serves as a showcase for the battles in the film.
Emile the African · 1948Emile the African
★ 6.31948
MovieAdventure
Émile Boulard is a props man in a Paris movie studio. He has a wife, Suzanne. Or to be more accurate, let's say he HAD a wife since she left him fifteen years before, allegedly ... to go buy a post stamp. But now that their daughter Martine , who lives with her, is old enough to marry, she resurfaces. She confesses that, in order to explain his absence, she has told Martine her father was a great explorer and lion hunter in Africa. Not to disappoint his daughter, Émile accepts to pose as the adventurer he is supposed to be. At the same time he will help Daniel, Martine's bashful fiancé, not to become a henpecked husband like him.
Tauw · 1970Tauw
★ 7.21970
MovieDrama
A young unemployed man fends off accusations of laziness and makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend who has been rejected by her family.
Filmography
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